On a clear day, Sproat Lake is as calm as glass, and a source of peace for the thousands who live and holiday here, but the murky past of the man it’s named after has some calling for its renaming in the spirit of reconciliation.
“It would mean a lot to not only me but all native people. Everybody,” said Tom Watts, a Tseshaht elder who lives near Sproat Lake.
According to Watts, he grew up hearing stories of Gilbert Sproat, a businessman who established the first sawmill in the Alberni Valley, and was a government agent in the 1800’s. But Watts says it’s when he read Sproat’s books, describing Indigenous people as “savages”, writing, “that natives did not in any civilized sense occupy the land” that was taken from them by colonizers, that he considered him something else.
“They were all racist. He came in here and said look this is our land now and we are going to use it,” said Watts.
Now a delegation from Haida Gwaii has asked the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District to rename the lake, originally known by its Indigenous name, Klecoot, to support the healing of area First Nations.
“After receiving the presentation they resolved to talk to both the Hupacasath and the Tseshaht First Nations and start the conversation,” said Chair of the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, John Jack.
Sproat Lake falls in the shared territory of the Hupacasath and Tseshaht First Nation, and the idea of renaming it has sparked a conversation that elders say has been years in the making.
“I know Sproat was not a very good man and there was a lot of mistakes that he made,” said Watts.
Yet Tseshaht First Nation’s Chief Ken Watts, is approaching this name change with caution.
“I just always ask myself is it the right time? Is it the right project? Is it the top priority because there’s a lot of other things we want to talk about renaming,” said Watts.
“Streets and schools are one thing, we as First Nations and our First Nations in particular want to rename a lot of our historical sites and islands, the Broken Islands after what they were named after but again I recognize it takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight.”
So for now the future of Sproat Lake’s name, will continue as a discussion. One already revealing new insights into Alberni’s past.
Skye Ryan
